From Sidekicks to Heroes
by Devi-Yosh
Summary: There are only six who can rescue the kidnapped Mane 6 and Spike from a mysterious new villain: the pets.


What happened? It all happened so fast, my brain wasn't even able to process anything. It was a normal day; my pony was supposed to bring me to the park for our weekly playdate with the other ponies and their pets. Next thing I knew I was walking with the pets, making our way out of Ponyville.

Wait a minute... Now that I think about it, I do know what happened. Though it's still kind of confusing. As I said, it was a normal day and my pony - her name is Applejack by the way - was supposed to bring me for our playdate with the others. I woke up bright and early, just itching to see my family. I sleep outside in a doghouse, though it's really cozy and it doesn't even leak when it rains, so that's a good thing. Only on special occasions do I sleep indoors with Applejack.

Anyway, I bound over to the large doors of the big red barn where my family sleeps, and almost as soon as I reach it the door swings open and Granny Smith walks out slowly. I guess it's so she doesn't hurt anything or something like that. One of Angel's pony's animal friends was old and had to walk slowly, too. Luckily, he was a wolf, and wolves and dogs have pretty much the same canine language. He told me that age causes your hips to hurt whenever you try to walk, so I guess that happens with ponies, too.

Granny Smith looked down at me as she passed by and smiled at me before stroking my head with a stone-hard, slightly cracked hoof and said, "G'mornin' Winona!" I hear these words every single morning from all four ponies, and they're always spoken with love. I loll my tongue out as I pant happily, my tail thumping against the dusty ground.

Next to come out was Big Macintosh. He's an incredibly broad and strong pony and the only male in the family. He seems to be kinda soft-spoken like Angel's pony, but he's still like Applejack as well: hard-working, honest, and very kind. He smiled down at me and scratched under my chin gingerly with a large sandy hoof. "G'mornin', Winona."

As Big Macintosh went to grab that large brown thing that he wears around his neck all the time for some reason, Apple Bloom trotted out of the barn with a great big smile on her face. I could just tell she was excited about something, and this made me excited, too! I don't know why, but I always feel happy whenever my family are happy, and sad whenever they're sad.

Apple Bloom hugged me and squeaked, "Mornin', Winona!" I returned her hug with a sloppy lick on her cheek, and she giggled. "Guess wha' today is, Winona."

Blinking in confusion, I tilted my head off to the side. I understood some words my family spoke, but not all of them. All I heard was some gibberish followed by my name. I could tell, though, that she was really excited when she spoke to me.

"Today's the day Ah finally git mah cutie mark!" the filly exclaimed, bouncing up and down. I tilted my head off to the other side.

Cutie mark? What in the name of chasing squirrels is a cutie mark? I hear the words from time to time from ponies all over town, but I never know what it is. Unless, of course, it's those strange markings on older ponies' flanks. The younger ones don't seem to have any markings except for a select few, like those purple and silver ponies from where Apple Bloom spends the day at. I don't like them, though. They make her sad and upset.

"Well, see ya later, Winona!" Apple Bloom grinned before galloping off, giving me one last hug before she went about her way. I turned and barked a friendly farewell, then turned to the barn doors and waited patiently for my favorite pony to emerge: Applejack.

I waited and waited, tongue lolling out and tail wagging. I waited and waited and waited...

...Wait, where's Applejack? Why isn't she coming out? She always comes out to say hello to me and help Big Macintosh harvest apples from the trees.

What if she's still sleeping? Nah, I know Applejack well enough to know that she never sleeps this late in the morning, and that's definitely saying something considering I'm a dog. Is she ill? No, Granny Smith or Big Macintosh would've checked on her if she was before coming out, and I didn't smell any sicknesses on them.

Where_ is_ Applejack?

I manage to wedge my muzzle through the slightly open barn door and nudged it open before walking inside. Applejack always tells me that good dogs stay outside, but I guess I have to be a bad dog for a moment if it meant making sure my pony was okay.

I sniffed the air and almost immediately detected Applejack's scent coming from a flight of stairs. I wasn't only bred for herding like border collies usually are, but also for tracking. At least that's what I'd like to think.

I climb up the stairs and walk down the hall towards a room. Applejack's scent is strongest in there. I nudged the door open with my muzzle and walk in, but Applejack wasn't in there.

That's weird... Applejack's scent is still fresh. I sniff around the room, trying to find my pony. Hey, maybe she's playing hide and seek. Or maybe she decided to get a bit mischievous and hide so she can pop out and scare me. She used to do that on occasion when she was younger and I was just a puppy.

I didn't find Applejack hiding anywhere in the room, but I did find her brown hat lying in front of her window. This confused me. Applejack never left without her hat. I guess it means as much to her as my dog collar means to me, and I love my dog collar. It's the perfect shade of red and everything!

I walk towards the hat and nuzzle it a bit, giving it a good sniff... and that's when I knew something was wrong. There was another scent here, one that I never smelled before. It belong to another pony. And... is that the scent of... fear?

Something bad must have happened to Applejack!

I instantly throw my head back and release a shrill howl, desperately trying to catch the attention of the other three ponies. At long last, I hear hooves stomping into the wood and it grows louder and louder. Big Macintosh bursts through the door, followed by Granny Smith and then Apple Bloom.

"Winona, what's wrong?" Apple Bloom yelped before she and the other two ponies gasped. They know something bad happened, too.

"What in tarnation is Applejack's hat doin' here on the floor?" Granny Smith grunted, picking the hat up. Once she did, she saw what looked like a white piece of paper underneath. She picked it up and began reading it out loud. I couldn't understand what she was saying, but I did pick up on the words "Applejack" and "Elements of Harmony". I'm surprised I even remember those words as Applejack rarely said them, whatever they are.

"Sweet Celestia!" Granny Smith suddenly exclaimed. I flinched at the sudden fear-stricken tone of voice she now had. "Applejack's been foalnapped! An' the only way t' git 'er back is by givin' this vermin the Elements o' Harmony!"


End file.
